Category: Interviews

Interviews, Our research, Structures

What I am thinking: fictional engineer and artist Stephen Talasnik

Stephen Talasnik has always been exploring the intersection of drawing and building. His ongoing investigation explores the near seamless connection of drawing, sculpture, ephemeral site specific stage set, architecture, engineering and product design. In addition to major installations at the Storm King Art Center, he executed site specific installations at the Denver Botanic Gardens and Manitoga, the Russel Wright House in Garrison (NY).  In addition … Continue reading What I am thinking: fictional engineer and artist Stephen Talasnik

formfindinglabLeave a comment
Engagement, Interviews, Our research, Structures

What is the future for shell design and construction?

Last Saturday (16th of January 2021), I had the great fortune of participating in a fascinating panel discussion about what the next trends are for shell design and construction with the structural and math wizard Chris Williams (Chalmers University) and the architectural engineer Philippe Block (ETHZ). The conversation was a bit provocative but actually also very insightful. If you missed it, you are in luck … Continue reading What is the future for shell design and construction?

formfindinglabLeave a comment
Interviews, Miscellaneous, Structures

What I am thinking: structural designer and poet Jun Sato

Jun Sato is Associate Professor at University of Tokyo / Visiting Professor at Stanford University / Chief Executive Engineer at Jun Sato Structural Engineers Co., Ltd.. He has developed transparent, lightweight and ductile structures with geometries of naturalness through his collaborations with architects such as Kengo Kuma, Riken Yamamoto, Toyo Ito, Sou Fujimoto and Junya Ishigami, and through workshops with students. He worked at Toshihiko … Continue reading What I am thinking: structural designer and poet Jun Sato

formfindinglabLeave a comment
Interviews, Miscellaneous, Structures

What I am thinking: historian and structural engineer Tyler Sprague

Tyler S. Sprague teaches courses in structural design & architectural history at the University of Washington in Seattle, USA.  He holds engineering degrees from the University of California, Berkeley and the University of Washington (UW) and worked professionally as a structural engineer before completing a Ph.D. in architectural history in the College of Built Environments at the UW. Sprague’s research investigates the intersection of architecture … Continue reading What I am thinking: historian and structural engineer Tyler Sprague

formfindinglabLeave a comment
Interviews, Miscellaneous

What I am thinking: computer scientist and lace artist Veronika Irvine

Veronika Irvine is a postdoctoral fellow in the Cheriton School of Computer Science at the University of Waterloo, Canada. She studied math and computer science and received her Masters degree from the University of Waterloo and her Ph.D. from the University of Victoria. Her research area is the computational generation of textile structures based on the technique of bobbin lace. Sigrid Adriaenssens: What is bobbin … Continue reading What I am thinking: computer scientist and lace artist Veronika Irvine

formfindinglabLeave a comment
Interviews

What I am thinking: movie maker and masonry specialist Emil Adiels

Emil Adiels is a researcher and lecturer and a part of the Architecture and Engineering Research Group at Chalmers University of Technology of Sweden. His research focus is gravitational structures and masonry with respect to geometry, structural mechanics and production methods. What fewer people know is that Emil is also an amazing movie maker. Sigrid Adriaenssens: why do you make movies about structures? Emil Adiels: … Continue reading What I am thinking: movie maker and masonry specialist Emil Adiels

formfindinglabLeave a comment
Interviews

What I am thinking: material scientist and bird watcher Lorna Gibson

Professor Lorna Gibson graduated in Civil Engineering from the University of Toronto and obtained her Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge. She was an Assistant Professor in Civil Engineering at the University of British Columbia for two years before moving to MIT, where she is currently the Matoula S. Salapatas Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. Her research interests focus on the mechanics of materials … Continue reading What I am thinking: material scientist and bird watcher Lorna Gibson

formfindinglabLeave a comment
Interviews

What I am thinking: designer of glass structures, James O’Callaghan

Founding Director of the firm Eckersley O’Callaghan, James is acknowledged as an authority on the structural use of glass. He is perhaps best known for his innovative glass stairs, bridges, facades and other structural elements in a range of Apple’s flagship retail stores including Tokyo, Sydney, Shanghai, Hong Kong, New York and London. Demi Fang: What is something you are currently working on that excites … Continue reading What I am thinking: designer of glass structures, James O’Callaghan

formfindinglabLeave a comment
Interviews

What I am thinking: origami artist and mathematician Tomohiro Tachi

Tomohiro Tachi is an associate professor in graphic and computer sciences at the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, the University of Tokyo. He studied architecture and received his Masters and Ph.D. degrees in engineering from the University of Tokyo. He has been designing origami since 2002 and exploring spatial and kinematic origami through computation. Tachi developed several software tools for origami design. “Origamizer” (2008) … Continue reading What I am thinking: origami artist and mathematician Tomohiro Tachi

formfindinglabLeave a comment
Interviews

What I am thinking: architect, designer, inventor and alumn MIT professor Neri Oxman

Neri Oxman is an architect, designer, inventor and was a professor at the MIT Media Lab, where she was the founding director of The Mediated Matter Group, an experimental design practice combining commissioned works with the creation of enabling technologies and scientific knowledge. The Group conducts research at the intersection of computational design, digital fabrication, materials science, and synthetic biology; and applies that knowledge to … Continue reading What I am thinking: architect, designer, inventor and alumn MIT professor Neri Oxman

formfindinglab1 Comment